A civil service aspirant’s proficiency in General Studies (GS) is key for success in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination conducted by the UPSC. With the GS paper becoming the most crucial factor in deciding who goes through to the next round, the 2015 Prelims question paper further underscored the need for aspirants to be thorough with all areas in General Studies. Having said this, it is important for Civil Service Aspirants to be aware of the ‘breadcrumbs’ left behind by key issues, and events in the preceding year- in short, Current Affairs. The much spoken about ‘conventional’ subjects that include History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Environment and Ecology itself covered 120+ marks in the recently concluded GS Paper of the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015. Add to this, a thorough coverage of current affairs, and progression to the Mains level of the examination was certain. Now that we have seen the must-cover topics for the Prelims paper, it is important to go through some of the must-cover sources and books for the Civil Services Prelims examination.

‘Textbook of Environmental Studies For Undergraduate Courses’ by Erach Bharucha

Importance of Current Affairs

Often we find that the unseen force that often directs, and shapes the way questions are asked in the Prelims and Mains Examination is Current Affairs. For example, the past year saw an unprecedented crisis in Yemen, which impacted thousands of Indians living in the region.

Even the Israel-Palestine conflict that has been on the boil for many years now, found coverage across the globe due to the rise in conflict between the two nations.

So how did the UPSC ask these questions in the Prelims Exam 2015?

The UPSC asked map-based questions in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015, based on the regions where these conflicts occurred. These were easy-pickings if one looked at these regions on the atlas and studied neighbouring countries, etc.

In addition to news articles that are generally covered by students from leading newspapers like, The Hindu and The Indian Express, students are advised to go through material such as Economic Survey and India Year Book.

Many questions from the IAS Prelims Examination 2015, could be easily solved if one paid close attention to the important points outlined in these sources.

BYJU’s Classes helps address these critical requirements through its comprehensive coverage of the GS syllabus, current affairs, daily news analysis, and much more. With recorded classes delivered on a Tablet, students can easily capture the full extent of the GS syllabus with in-depth coverage of each issue. Weekly current affairs videos further align an aspirant’s preparation efforts with the examination.